The Avenger
by alittlelikehome
Summary: Scotty and Lilly take new direction on a cold job from 1954, but as the mystery unravels, ugly truths are revealed that make separating themselves from the victims nearly impossible. Rated for strong language, violent situations, and adult moments.
1. A New Hope

This is me taking my first crack at my new favorite show (DVR=greatest invention ever). I haven't been watching long, so if I don't quite catch the correct tone for character, feel free to blame me…gently. lol

A sad story traded through the ages, author to author…I don't own Cold Case. Still brings a tear to the eye, huh?

1954

Detective Tommy Blaine popped his head up from his paperwork and took a quick look around the pen to see if the coast was clear. A quick left, a quick right, and it was like the path straight ahead was lit by the big man himself despite the late hour.

God, she was a looker. Even in the piss poor lighting of the precinct, she seemed to shine brighter than a candle-twice as pretty too. In his heart of hearts he knew it wasn't the right time, and it seemed there never would be one, but his heart of hearts also seemed to be falling shamelessly in love.

There was a ring in his desk drawer. He'd bought it the day she finally admitted who put those ugly marks on her flawless skin. Fooled himself into thinking he just wanted to play the white knight, but that almost seemed funny now. Being the white knight was okay, but now he knew he wanted it all. That gorgeous diamond that shone bright as her eyes belonged on her finger, his lonely apartment needed an upgrade to a little something with a fence out front, and that pretty little girl that looked so much like her mama needed to ponder calling him "daddy" instead of "Uncle Tommy".

After casting her eyes around much like Tommy, she finally lifted her head to give him a quick grin when his hip landed against her desk and a handful of candy spilled over her work. Just as fast, she centered her eyes on the keys in front of her before answering.

"You're gonna spoil her."

"Not a crime the last time I checked."

"I suppose you would know, wouldn't you detective?"

"The way I see it, you know just as much as me. Means you know every girl needs a little spoilin'. Good for the soul. And when those girls get older, its good for the fire in their gut. Makes 'em good and uppity in case some fool gets it in his head that he wants to be fresh with her."

A red rosebud fell from his fumbling fingers into her eye line.

She raised her eyes to his, beautiful blue holding a private dance for embarrassment and delight.

"Tommy! Not here! You're going to get us into a whole heap of trouble!"

"Are you more worried about the trouble, or that bright red blush on your cheeks?"

"I'd recommend you watching out. My gut is fixing to boil."

"That's good. Real good."

"Mmhmm."

"Like it or not, you're my best girl, Ellie."

In the most subtle exchange, his hand slid towards her, and one delicate pinkie left the keys to touch his bare ring finger. After a beat, she resumed her typing, and swallowed the lump threatening to choke her right then and there.

Eleanor didn't need her eyes to see that his darker ones were brimming with all the things she couldn't bare to accept. She could have gone mad and blind, but she would never be able to erase that man from her mind. He was as handsome as they could come with those dark sympathetic eyes, and short tufts of black hair that seemed to perpetually hang on the ledge of unruly-at least in cop standards. But it was his heart, so full of all the good things in the world, made to find all the good in the worst. She could never forget the one person on the planet that found something worthwhile in her besides her precious daughter.

"Well, maybe that's what you think Detective Blaine, but I know someone who'd beg to differ."

"Yeah? And who would that be?"

"This spoiled little girl running rampant around my home, doped up on sugar, thinking the Earth starts and stops with Uncle Tommy."

"Very true. Proving yourself to have that sharp eye again Miss Collins. What would you say if I decided I've got two best girls?"

Her eyes closed, and she let out the smallest sigh before she attempted to redirect the road this conversation was taking.

"That I appreciate everything you…"

"Not this again. What we got ain't something you appreciate like a nice lamp, or a boy scout that carried your grocery bag. This isn't the kindness of my heart Ellie, this is my heart, and I am a very patient man. Maybe you can't give me yours yet, so you just wanna be friends…that's fine by me. But you might as well accept that you're mine no matter what you wanna call us, and I take care of mine."

"You shouldn't be talking this way…"

"I could shut my mouth, but the truth would still be screaming from my face."

For the first time since approaching her, he bent his head down and away. He didn't need to rush her like this. All he intended was to give her the treats and see if he could weasel himself a few moments of time with her, and maybe even little Nancy. With his composure back in place, he nudged her chair teasingly.

"So I was thinking it's awfully late for a gal like you to be wandering home alone."

"I live two blocks away. The walking is good for me."

"Didn't hear anything about how doing it alone is good for you."

"Maybe I'm used to it."

"Maybe you ought to get used to somethin' else. You ever think on that?"

"I tried to once, but then this sickly little puppy dog took to chasing after my heels, and won't give me a moments peace. At least not til I give him some of my pot roast and potatoes, then he tends to mind."

With a grin he picked up her coat and held it out for her to slip her arms in.

"Pot roast, huh?"

"Nancy made some cookies to go with it too. Oatmeal, your favorite."

"So maybe I can walk you home and have my favorite dinner?"

"It's what friends do, right?"

Tommy's fingers tugged at a lock of her golden hair still stuck in her collar, and smoothed her sleeves. He would've taken the chance to clutch her hands, but he could see that weary look in her eye silently pleading, "not tonight, not now", so he gave her wrist a tug, and a wink to be just plain ornery.

As they turned to leave, the detective's eye caught something glinting by the phone on her desk.

"What's that Ellie?"

She rolled her eyes, and pinched his elbow.

"Don't try and be funny wise guy."

He peeled away and made a grab for the object. It was a tiny golden bird with eyes of some blue stone, trapped in a crystal cage.

"Your sweetheart send you this?"

She took the figurine and set it back on the desk. Uneasily, she caught how impossibly small it looked in his large hand, but shook it off.

"This was just another one of your silly jokes, Thomas Blaine, don't you dare try to lie about it. While we're on the subject, you really shouldn't be so obvious here. I mean it. I'd lose my job, and I can't."

"Thomas? Well, Eleanor, your job is just fine, don't you worry on that. And I didn't send you that. Strikes me a little creepy actually. A caged bird? If I wanted to tease you in public, I'd just yank on your pigtails."

"But that note…"

"What note?"

Her hand dipped into her pocket, and she pulled out the card and began to recite, "So much like you my precious Ellie. Thinking of you, The Avenger."

"The Avenger?"

"Nonsense. Just like you.", she slapped the paper in his palm, "but a little extreme you know? Pull my pigtails anytime, Tommy, just don't pull a fast one like this again."

"What do I have to avenge?"

The air crackled briefly with discomfort.

"You tell me, Tommy."

"That wasn't me, Ellie. You have to know that. Gotta believe it. I wanted the bastard dead, but I kept my hands to myself out of respect for you and Nancy. Going after him would've made us the same, and I want to be better for you."

The truth swirled in the space between, and drove her hand up to his stubbled cheek.

"You are the better man. Always and forever. I should be ashamed for even thinking that."

His hand came up to cover hers. She felt cold beneath his fingers, and he wondered if he would ever be able to drive the cold from her heart.

"Not gonna know until I prove it, and I don't care if it takes til my dying breath, I'll prove it to you."

Lips ghosted against lips, then parted.

"Nancy is probably wondering where we are."

"We should get to her."

Eleanor moved ahead first, and Tommy took a minute to watch over her.

"Will you promise me something Ellie?"

"What is it?"

"No more walks alone, okay? Take your Pop, or give me a call. That goes for Nancy too. There are a lot of weirdoes out there anymore. Even in broad daylight."

"Is this about the note?"

"A little, but I'm just lookin' out for you. And to be fair, we never did find out who killed him, just that he was mixed up in a lot of crazy business. You can never be too safe."

"How about I promise to check all the locks, and make it in before dark? And I'll ask Mom to use her car to fetch Nancy from school if it will make you feel better. But I don't need an escort, Tommy. I just found my wings, and I can't have them clipped, even for a more honorable cause. Do you understand?"

"If I say "yes" will you understand that doesn't mean I have to like it?"

"Come on big guy, dinner is waiting on us."

The summer night was peaceful, and set a genteel air over their nightly walks until the season changed, and leaves spun about and nipped at their ankles as they made their way home. No, he wouldn't clip her wings, but every night after he made sure he was available in case someone else tried.

A month later the once playful leaves lay limp against the pavement, dampened by the first snow. Eleanor Collins also lay limp against the sidewalk, but with her blood tauntingly tinting the flakes around her. Her pretty golden hair had fought its way loose from her updo, and fanned around her in a frozen halo.

Detective Tommy Blaine used to tell her she reminded him of winter. Her eyes were ice blue, and she was a stubborn as the first frost when she decided to go cold, but her heart was as warm as a fire when you finally made it inside. The first time she heard that she didn't know if she should be pleased or angry, so she made him go think about it on the front porch. Ten minutes later the irony of her behavior sent her into a fit of giggles, and she let him back in. It was the first time he got to feel that fire first hand.

The first time he saw those crime scene snaps of his lovely Ellie frozen in the snow, he knew he'd never feel warm again.

Finally acknowledging what he had ignored all along for Tommy and Eleanor's sake, Lieutenant Pete Framingham took the Collin's case like he would for any of his own. Tommy was his detective, and even if they weren't married, she was family too. It was five years before he told Tommy it was time he put the box away and they accept the job had gone cold. It was ten years before he could actually stomach the notion, and not until the day of his retirement that he did.

2014

Lilly Rush stared into her computer screen blankly. Sleep had eluded her once again, and now she was paying for it.

Distantly, or so she thought, she heard her partner's voice chattering to an unseen visitor. Once tapped upon her shoulder she realized the distance must have only accounted for roughly three feet.

Great.

"Ma'am, this is my partner Lilly Rush. Lil, this is Nancy Collins. If you'd like to take a seat, you can show us what you've got."

Lilly mustered a smile for the stranger, and offered up her own seat.

"Oh thank you, honey. I really hope this isn't wasting your time."

Scotty's eyes caught Lilly's for a moment, offering a silent "we'll see", and then went back to the woman in front of him.

"This is about a Cold Case?"

"Yes, my mother, Eleanor Collins. She was murdered in November 1954, when I was eight years old."

"And you think you have something after all this time?"

"I think so."

Nancy reached into her bag, and produced a yellowed note card that she offered to Scotty before returning to Lilly.

"Her things have been packed up for fifty years. My grandparents didn't have the heart to actually go through them, so they put them in cartons and never looked again. To be honest, I kind of forgot they were up there in the attic until I went to do some spring cleaning. I was young when she died, and I only knew her through the eyes of an adoring child, so I thought maybe it was time I got to know her as she was now. I didn't find anything very telling, just some knick knacks, and musty clothing until I found that note in the pocket of her favorite dress coat."

Scotty placed the note in Lilly's hand, and continued the questioning.

"Do you know of anyone who'd want to hurt your mother?"

"Just my father, but that monster was killed about a year before she was. Mom was a pistol, but everyone I knew loved her."

"Except maybe this Avenger? Had you ever heard her call anyone that? Did she seem worried before her death?"

"I never heard of whoever it was, but that doesn't surprise me. She'd be beaten black and blue, and would get up at seven in the morning, put on her pearls, and make my favorite waffles. At the time I was too scared to mention it, but now I can appreciate that kind of moxie. She was so strong, she never let on."

"My Dearest Ellie, you love me, not him. My golden bird, with the sapphire eyes, I'll get my chance to cage you and make you mine. I've cleared the way for you and I, it's just time you accept it. The Avenger"

"Do you think this person meant your father? The other man she loved?"

"My bet would be on Uncle Tommy if she got this before she died."

"Uncle Tommy? "

"He used to be a homicide detective, but somehow had found out about what was happening to my mother, and tried to personally run the case against my father. "

"Any chance he could be The Avenger? Maybe your mom was still hung up on your father?"

"Not a chance. He was the first good I'd ever known, maybe even the first good she'd known. It's funny, she hated being called Ellie, said it made her sound like a hick, but she never did stop him. Oh, she'd carry on about it, but I think she let him so he would know she was sweet on him too."

Scotty looked to Lilly, all traces of her fitful sleep had been cleared by the sparkle of a hunt. He didn't listen as she took down Nancy's information, and gripped her hand. Accepting the job was a formality once Lil got that look, and his mind was already on a box hidden in the darkness of storage waiting to be thrust back in to the light.

__

So yeah…I hope that's a satisfying start to a (hopefully) long and exciting tale. The plots to both the investigation, and our favorite detectives have been swimming in my head for about a day. All the details and quotes are pinging about in my head, and if someone would like to message me and be a sounding board so I can organize this chaos…lets just say I'd love you for life.

Until then, thanks from the bottom of my heart for taking a chance on my story. J


	2. Damaged

Thanks to everyone has read the first chapter & was curious enough to hit next! You're great!

Still the property of CBS, and many other, richer folks than I.

This one is dedicated to my grandparents. While my grandfathers weren't detectives, and my grandmothers were thankfully not victims, they were all brave enough to do what their hearts pleased instead of what was considered proper. Can we give a quick hip-hip-hooray for all the really good men out there that we tend to forget about? :D

__

An hour later with two coffees in hand, Detective Scotty Valens found his partner sitting Indian style on the cold concrete floor gingerly tracing the edges of a plastic evidence bag holding a bloodied pink blouse. All the paper contents were clearly discarded, strewn all around her, and she seemed to be cradling a photo in her lap while she stared in to space.

"Long night, Lil?"

Her breath hitched with fright, then released in an impossibly soft exhale. She answered, but didn't look his way even as he offered up her mug.

"Somethin' like that. Did Nancy get out okay?"

He moved himself to prop against the opposing shelving unit, placing her drink somewhere in between. He knew "do not disturb" when he saw it.

"She's good. The wind is really picking up out there, though. Wouldn't be surprised if we had one helluva storm on our hands before the week's out."

"That'd be bad."

"So, you gonna tell me whatcha got on your mind?"

Lilly's eyes snapped suddenly up to his own, and managed to fill him up with a chill the outdoors couldn't even muster. Her face read blank, but something gauzy and uneasy seemed to fall between them. Electricity prickled up his spine. She…

"I don't know."

Scotty cleared his throat, and had to break eye contact before he could find words.

"Don't know what you're thinking', or don't know if you're wantin' to tell me?"

"Would it be stupid of me to say both?"

Hall, W. Hawkins, L. Hollaway, J… His eyes skirted the boxes instead of taking the chance at looking to Lilly.

"You ain't got stupid in you, Lil. Sometimes you gotta sort, and sometimes I can't be trusted. I get that."

"Hey."

Their eyes automatically locked. Hey was her command, not her greeting.

"I trust you, Scotty."

"Maybe the man, but never the reaction, right?"

"We're past that, but I don't even know what I'm thinking right now. This is too big to put in the wrong words."

His jaw ticked. Maybe she didn't know she was there, but she was scared of his reaction. Again. Two years, and he still managed to scare her. Fantastic news, Scotty-boy.

"Tell me something you do know then."

"Fifty years is a long time, and they didn't leave us much to go on."

"What do we have?"

"Eleanor Collins. Twenty six years old. Divorced from a deceased Arthur Denver-his murder is a cold one, too. They married when she was eighteen, settled right down into having a baby, and somewhere in the mix he decided she needed punishing. She never tried to get help until Nancy was five.-apparently daddy dearest decided he hated their kid too. That's when she met up with Uncle Tommy, better know as Detective Thomas Blaine. He got her out, got her a job as the squad secretary, and a divorce. He tried everything to get charges, any charges, to stick to Arthur, and the day he did they found Arthur dead-gunshot to the head."

"She was avenged."

"By assailants unknown according to his box. Tommy was questioned, but Eleanor alibied him when they started to turn up the heat on their one good suspect. She said they were at her house eating pot roast with her kid, though the whole squad assumed there was something less, era-appropriate going on."

"He was doin' her?"

Lilly looked up from the file, and shot him a nasty look.

"More like he was playing house with a divorced woman and her kid which didn't usually happen in the fifties."

Scotty shrugged non-committal.

"He was doin' her."

Clearly annoyed, she moved on.

"She was survived by her parents Ralph and Phyllis Collins, who did not care for Uncle Tommy so much."

"Back then you married your daughter off, and turned a blind eye for polite society right?"

"Pretty much. Didn't like his fairly public witch hunt, didn't appreciate he got her divorced and then wanted to play daddy."

"But they were in love?"

"As much as they were allowed to be."

"So, he's in love but pretty much powerless to help her in the way a detective would want to, and everybody was frownin' on him trying to take care of Eleanor and Nancy. Pretty heavy stuff. I'd murder for the woman I love, so it plays for me that he'd take Arthur out."

"But she loved him, knew he was trying to do right by her, and steps up to protect him this time."

Their heads had somehow crept closer during their back and forth.

When Lilly went alert, she flinched back.

Scotty tugged at his tie, and leaned back against the boxes once again. Their words seemed to pull at the edge of a not so forgotten scab.

Lilly sucked in her bottom lip, a nervous habit, before she spoke again.

"Maybe the alibi was crap, but he was trying to catch the guy the right way. Why would he kill him then, when he had two years of opportunity and motive? The force was different too. Investigations happened, but so did blind eyes for one of their own."

For awhile they just sat, immersed in the details. Lilly's mind was on Eleanor, but Scotty's was caught on her.

_Two Years Earlier_

"_You're fucking stupid, Valens."_

_Jeffries tossed Vera the bandage tape, and he continued._

"_There's nothin' wrong with Rush's new guy. Just a regular Joe like us, trying to love her the best he can. And guess what? He can't do that if you're trying to fight him like a bitchy little girl that doesn't wanna share a doll."_

_Will decided to chime in once he pushed the ice pack down on Scotty's knee just a little too rough._

"_You're seeing things that aren't there for your own selfish reasons, Scotty. You're her partner. You know her. Lilly needs this. She deserves to be happy. You understand me?"_

_Scotty turned his eyes away to the wall and reached for another drink of his scotch._

"_You ain't telling' me somethin' I don't know."_

_Nick snatched up the glass and threw it against the wall._

"_Then man the fuck up! Drop the bullshit, remind your dick that Rush is one of us, and stop the boozin' jackass!"_

_Scotty jumped up unsteadily, and put his hand to Vera's chest to push him out of his face.._

"_It ain't like that! Don't talk about her like that! I'm just trying to take care of her!"_

_At that moment, they heard the front door slam shut, and hurried footsteps make their way to the bedroom._

"_You picked a fight with my boyfriend, Valens? You kicked his fuckin; teeth out. Literally! Have you lost your mind?"_

_He reached out to her, and tried to step closer. His heart cracked when she pushed his hands away from her shoulders and stepped even farther from his grasp._

"_Lil', I'm just lookin' out for you! You got my back, and I got yours! This guy don't read right!"_

"_He's a good man, Scotty. You might try it sometime."_

_She went to his dresser and pulled out a fresh t-shirt and jeans._

"_Change quick."_

"_Why?"_

"_Someone saw you in the alley with Jared. They recognized you, Scotty. They called the cops and told them where to find you. Change. Now."_

_Stillman knocked on the door moments later, followed closely by two uniforms._

"_Scotty, did you assault Jared Atkins?"_

_He ignored his boss, and looked to Lilly._

"_Was it him? Is he pressin' charges? I was just tryin' to be good to you. You're our best girl, Lil."_

_She wouldn't look at him now, and stepped closed to the men._

"_Officers, I don't know what you heard, but Detective Valens drank a little too much and found a wall that didn't like him."_

_They looked at him through callous eyes. They heard about this guy with the bad temper, and the lady for a partner. All of Philly PD had heard about her at least. As soon as they caught the call they knew the rumors had been true. They were sleeping together, had to be. It never crossed their minds that she could just be good, that their squad could really be that solid. Now she found some new guy, and her partner was pissed. _

_Mutually they agreed they'd knock out some teeth too if they had someone so pretty around._

"_You sure Detective Rush?"_

_She still wouldn't look at him, but gave a cold, "Positive."_

_The officers exchanged looks, but tipped their hats in exit._

_He tried to reach for her again, but Stillman blocked his path._

"_Oh, Lil, you really saved my ass on this one…"_

"_Don't say another word. Stay away from me and Jared, and try sobering up. Sloppy never looked good on you."_

"_I didn't mean…"_

"_You never mean a lot of things. I'm a grown woman, I don't need you cleaning up my phantom messes. Stay away? Got it?"_

_John followed her out wordlessly, and the others finished bandaging their friend._

_He drank by himself in the dark for a week after that until Boss forced his way into the apartment and drained every last drop of liquor. Told him he had one more week to get his sorry ass straight, or he was out. It was the scariest thing he had ever heard._

_Scotty still considered himself noble at the time, and rationalized that if Jared wasn't all he was cracked up to be, then he needed to be at work to catch the signs, to have her back. He enrolled in the twelve steps, anger management, and kick boxing-just in case. He finally shaved and showered the stench of alcohol off of himself and every surface of his home._

_When he came back, she didn't speak to him directly for two months, didn't look him in the eye for three. Nicky told him Jared had a habit of going to First Thursday's, so he stopped going since he realized he had been a jerk for beating up a guy with a clean record and what was considered to be a good heart._

_The day she finally looked at him, instead of through him, she asked offhandedly if he was coming back tonight. He insisted it wasn't great idea with the drinking, and Jared there, and even though she shrugged an "okay", he sensed that she might want him around. _

_He showed up that night surprised to find Jared wasn't there, Lilly had saved him a place, and she had already thrown four drinks back. It made him nervous, but it felt too damn good to be like friends again. She asked him the one question no one had bothered to, "Why'd ya do it, Scotty?", and let him explain his reasons while he nursed a water, and she drank herself under the table. _

_Everyone assumed he had been jealous that Lilly had somewhere else to spend her time, and someone else to share it, but even drunk she caught his fragmented logic. Guy was clean, too clean, not a trace of him anywhere. What kind of man doesn't leave a single mark, or loose end somewhere?_

"_Not the strongest case, Scotty, but I get why ya did it. You're a good friend, and a good man. I was just mad at ya when I told ya different."_

"_We did a piss poor job protectin' you're heart before, I thought maybe it was time somebody stepped up."_

_She didn't say anything while he finally pulled the plug on her bar tab. It was a task getting her out of the bar, and into the car, but he couldn't really trust anyone else to do it right. Not when they finally had such a tenuous grasp on each other again. When he drove her home, she slid an arm through his, and put her head on his shoulder._

"_I love you guys. No matter what, I'm always gonna be your girl."_

_By the time he'd figured out that she was responding to his comment so many nights ago, she was snoring._

_Jared met him at the door as he carried her up the sidewalk. Scotty carefully avoided his eyes, and all but dropped Lilly on the couch to make for the door, but then he felt a palm on his shoulder._

"_Stay awhile, Scotty."_

"_Nah, I should get back to my place…"_

_But Jared had already passed him a bottle of water and led him to the front steps._

"_I'm sorry, Jared."_

_He smiled at him, actually fucking smiled, and tipped his beer bottle towards Scotty._

"_You had good intentions, man. Just lookin' after Lil, and I appreciate it. Methods could use some work though."_

"_Probably."_

"_But if someone is poppin' off at her on the streets, don't hesitate to give 'em the Rocky act."_

_It was Scotty's turn to smile now._

"_She's been missin' you, even if she's been ignorin' you. I take it you guys are friends again?"_

"_I think so."_

"_Well, I'm glad to hear it. You guys are her family. Maybe one day we can even be friends too."_

Lilly swore it was in the past, but it wasn't really. He minded his p's and q's, but the guys were always watching him, just waiting for the first slip up. He and Jared were civil, but he didn't hang out with him and play poker like the other guys. Bless her heart, after they made up, Lil tried to pretend everything was back to normal, but there were pieces of herself he could tell that she was hiding away because now she had good reason to worry about his temper coming back on her unlike before.

For the thousandth time, his guilt swallowed him whole and he didn't say another word all day. He pushed papers around his desktop, eyeballed Lilly, ate the sandwich she dropped on his desk, and went home.

Hours later he was watching Letterman in the darkened living room, when his front door opened then closed. The edge of couch by his feet dipped under weight, but he didn't move his eyes from the screen. Before long her hand reached out for some of his abandoned popcorn, and she got up to make herself a cup of tea. When Lilly came back, she set her mug on the floor, and put her head on the throw pillow opposite his own. He lifted the edge of his blanket, and let her slide underneath.

"Whatever it is that's bothering you, I'm guessing you got it figured out."

"Mostly."

"That why you can't sleep?"

"You know me too well."

"Found your words?"

"Yeah…Scotty?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm pregnant and I don't know what to do about it."

He pushed himself upright and looked at her.

"Pee on a stick?"

She slid herself up and looked at him like he grew a second head.

"Pee on a stick?"

"That's how you go from thinking' to knowin' you're pregnant. Plus or minus? Blue or pink? One line, two lines?"

A giggle bubbled from her throat, and soon she was grasping her knees and shaking from the force of her laughter. Scotty pulled on her ponytail as he laughed uncertainly with her.

"This is funny stuff now?"

"You are such a guy. 'Pee on a stick'. Really?"

"I was being serious!"

"And that's what makes it funny!"

Lilly laughed softly one last time before she lay her cheek against her knees.

"I have a little time before I have to do that."

"But you gotta know, for your health, the baby's…"

"The maybe baby, like I said, I think I am, but it's early."

"Are you scared to find out?"

"A little."

"You gotta fight that. How are we supposed to take care of yourself if you don't?"

"Because when I say it's early, I mean it's early enough to be suspicious, but early enough that it can go away without warning no matter what a stick says."

"That happen to you before?"

She looked up at him, and suddenly he got it.

"You lost a baby two years ago, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Was it the stress? The job?"

"Just one of the things that can happen, Scotty. Had it been a week earlier, I wouldn't have even known there was a baby to begin with."

"Still broke your heart though. I can see it all over your face. Did it happen that First Thursday?"

"Yeah. Poor Boss took me took the doctor that morning. He tried, he really did, but he had that dad look on his face that was so hard to bear, and Jared's a great guy, but he was so new…I don't do new well sometimes…"

"So you got drunk off your ass…"

"I did what I had to. I needed a little liquid courage, or I wouldn't be able to say the things that needed saying so I could get my best friend back."

"But you never told me."

"It wasn't that I needed to tell someone about it specifically, it was about the comfort of having someone around that didn't have to say anything at all to make me feel better."

The corner of his mouth raised just a fraction.

"So I'm like that raggedy old Phillies shirt you won't throw away?"

"It's comfortable!"

She swatted his knee and turned to lay facing the tv again.

He tucked her feet under his arm, and turned back towards the tv too.

"Would you mind if I stayed here tonight? Jared's at the firehouse and…"

"Goodnight, Lil."

She smiled sleepily to herself and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Scotty."

Within moments, she was deep in a dreamless sleep, but Scotty laid there wide awake. The proverbial fog had lifted, so his mind started tracking the case.

The Avenger.

Wasn't that a comic book or something'?

This Avenger finds her how? She was a pretty woman, so he could see where the attraction would be, but what made him latch on to her? Stalk her even? And if she's being stalked, literally right there in front of the police, how did he get away with it?

Was he a cop?

Out of nowhere his mind jumped to George Marks. Proof positive that you didn't have to be a cop to know all the cops' dirt.

They had to find Blaine and talk to him tomorrow. Fifty years is a long time if she was really the love of his life. He was a detective, surely he had a couple theories under his hat, and he was almost as sure he had a gut full of guilt too. He was an investigator, paid to see it all-catch the little things. Ellie never filed a report, but he knew what Arthur had done to her. Tommy got her out and went for the bastard, but maybe he dropped the nerves after Arthur got popped?

Scotty finally closed his eyes, but he couldn't sleep.

In his mind's eye, he could see the picture Lilly had been hanging onto-Eleanor Collins laying dead on the sidewalk halfway to her home. They had only been on it for half a day, but something about this case already made him itch. He just had to figure out why that was.


	3. Dream a Little Dream

Well gang, I'm sending out a big apology for not updating for over a week. I've been super sick, and this is the first time I've opened my laptop since my last update. I'm also sorry if anything is severely atrocious, just wanted to get something out there as a thanks to everyone who has reviewed, or put this story on alert.

THANKS J

Still don't own anything. Bleak bleak bleak.

_Lilly took in the sights around her, and embraced a quick flourish of something joyful. Everything felt light. Whatever those colorful drinks Kat had been bringing her were, she could only imagine it was magic in a bottle. She grinned at Scotty, who was sitting beside her fixing yet another umbrella from her drink into her ponytail. Something told her she shouldn't feel so carefree with his fingers in her hair, but with the world sparkling all about, that feeling skated to the back of her mind. She started to laugh when Vera's foot clumsily made it's way to her instead of Kat, and Scotty made a grab for her waist and whispered to her._

"_I better stop makin' you more beautiful, Lil. All these losers got their eyes on you, and if I don't watch close, they're gonna run off with you."_

_She leaned closer to him, "Why you so worried? Got plans for me, Valens?"_

"_Not sure yet, but those umbrellas got me thinkin' about how tropical you could look."_

_Her cheeks lit rosy and she got up._

"_Time for another drink."_

_The line was impossibly long, but it made good time to roll Scotty's comments over in her mind. Was he being serious or just playing around? Anymore it was so hard to tell with him. And damned if she didn't start thinking about how tropical he could look in a number of situations, too. The barman slapped her glass down on the counter and she replaced it with some extra cash in unknown thanks for saving her from that train of thought. _

_The could be happy train screeched to a halt when she got back to their table, though. Randii-with two i's for extra annoyance-had taken a seat and now Scotty's arm was thrown carelessly across the back of her chair as they shared whispered exchanges. She wasn't entirely sure where he had found this particular Christina reboot, or how she found her way to their celebration, but Lilly knew trouble when she saw it. Trouble didn't belong here-not tonight, not later. And even though it turned her stomach, she still took her seat by his. She also drank herself to the bottom of every glass that wandered in her way._

_So an hour later, when Randii was still ruining Lilly's night, the liquor made a move forward._

_Of their own accord, her hands shot out and took hold of his face, physically making him give her attention._

"_Scotty, I'm thirsty. Come get a drink with me."_

_He wrapped his hands around hers, and smiled kindly._

"_Lil, I think another drink is the last thing you need."_

"_One last one for the road! C'mon!"_

"_Okay. If you promise I get to cut you off after that."_

_She moved just a little too fast, but thankfully Scotty was already there to catch her._

"_You sure I can't just get you a ride home?"_

"_How about you?"_

"_You know I would, Lil, but I ain't in no condition to drive, and even if I was, you know I've got Randii waiting."_

"_She's no good for you, Scotty. You should come home with me instead."_

"_What are you sayin', Lil?"_

"_That you should come home with me tonight."_

_She slid her hand up the front of his work shirt._

"_From what you were saying earlier, I was kinda workin' under the impression you might like to come with me too."_

At half-past five, Lilly woke up disoriented in the middle of Scotty's bed, wondering what had made her dream about that?.

And when had he moved her?

The last thing she remembered was closing her eyes during a commercial, so she could only guess that he had moved her at some point after that. Her clothes were intact, no sticky puddle of drool, and nothing else in memory she should be embarrassed about since the man himself wasn't around, so she dared to close her eyes once more and try for another hour of sleep. Only fifteen short minutes later, though, he was shaking her leg to wake her.

"Rise and shine, Lil. We got places to be and a long ass time on the road to get there."

She kicked futilely at him.

"We don't have to be at work until eight today. Boss said."

"Boss didn't know how far out in the sticks Blaine lives. Go jump in the shower. I set your overnight bag in there."

Lilly groped blindly for his hand, when she found it she laced her fingers with his, and began with all the sincerity she could muster with her eyes still closed.

"Valens, I still have so much to teach you. See, when people are elderly, they move at a certain speed. That speed is slow. They also enjoy sitting in one place for extended amounts of time. Tommy's gonna be there no matter if we get there at eight or ten. I'm going back to sleep now. Feel free to join me. Goodnight."

Scotty decided to indulge her for a little while, and laid down to study her. Besides, why should she have to suffer because he felt restless?

Looking at her now kind of felt like a miracle to him. At ten years plus as partners, they had done pretty much everything humanly possible to screw up what they had, but here she was sleeping in his bed more like best friends would do. Maybe they were invincible. Each could take a beating, but they would always end up together at a scene, or the office, or even in bed holding hands despite the two feet of space he was careful to put between their bodies.

As nice as it was, suspicion still gnawed at his gut and threatened to ruin it all. He wanted to lift up her shirt and see if he would find bruises, or go through her cell and see if he could find a nasty text message from Jared, call in and find out if somebody else had been hassling her and she didn't tell him. He was glad to have her over, but she wasn't telling him the whole truth and that was eating at him.

Maybe she really believes she's pregnant, but he knows her too well. If she wanted to worry about her figure, or cravings she'd go find Kat because he wasn't exactly Lamaze material and he didn't know a damn thing about maternity clothes. No, she came to him because something's scaring her. Too bad she can't just spit it out.

"Scotty."

She was calling his name again in that plaintive tone he knew didn't belong with a nightmare, so he let her be just as he had the night before. Still, he wondered what she could be dreaming about. Maybe they were having coffee, or a couple of beers on the roof.

That'd be nice, he decided, right before he fell back asleep.

___

Two hours later, after Lilly showered and Scotty changed out of his wrinkly suit, they pulled up outside of the farmhouse where Tommy Blaine now lived.

His home had an eclectic vibe, where chickens roamed in the front yard next to giant wind chime structures, and an American flag flew on a pole next to the Gay Pride flag. Not exactly the décor of most retired detectives.

Scotty turned to smirk at Lilly, but she had found her way over to one of the giant wind chimes. Her face held the wistful amusement of a child as she took in all the intricate metal work. He went over to join her when a voice rang out.

"I call that one Freedom. Do you like it Miss?"

They turned toward the porch where they heard the voice. An older man with a weathered face and thick shock of white hair hung over the porch rail with a grin on his face. He moved down the steps with the ease and carriage of a man much younger than himself.

Scotty made the first step towards him.

"Detective Tommy Blaine?"

The older man stretched out his hand, "Last time I checked son. And you are?"

Lilly stepped away from the structure and extended her own hand.

"Detective Lilly Rush, my partner, Scotty Valens. We're with Philly Homicide."

Tommy took her hand in both of his own, and impossibly, his grin widened.

"A detective, huh? Well isn't that just fine! Fine indeed," he tugged on her hand to pull Lilly towards the porch, "Come, let's have some lemonade inside detectives."

The inside of his home proved just as odd as the outside. Hundreds of pictures were displayed all around of Tommy at various marathons, telethons, and marches. He had delicate Japanese tea settings on a table with folded football jersey. Clearly, Tommy Blaine had lied quite a life in the past fifty years.

Once seated, with the drinks poured, Tommy sat himself down in an old wicker rocker and observed the detectives looking all about. With a wry smile he commented to them, "As you can see, detectives, I've taken an interest in just about every cause where someone is the underdog. I've supported women's rights, integration, civil rights, gay rights-you name it. No one deserves to be the mud on someone else's shoe."

"You're a wild thinker from someone in your generation," Lilly responded with a smile of her own.

"Just logical, my dear, just logical. So are you going to let me know what brings you all the way out here? There hasn't been a murder or missing person in this county for over twenty years."

Scotty decided to jump in, "Our particular squad mostly works with cold cases. We got a visit the other day from Nancy Collins. She gave us some new direction on the murder of Eleanor Collins."

For a moment Tommy's eyes closed and his rocking ceased. It felt like almost everything from chickens to chimes went still with the mention of her name. Finally he let out a quiet sigh and resumed his rocking.

"How can I help you?"

"Why don't you start with telling us a little bit about her, how you met her?" Lilly asked.

"Eleanor Collins was the most wonderful woman I've ever met in my life. One day I was at the market and that was the first time I laid eyes on Ellie and Nancy. Ellie had on these ridiculously fussy gloves, but when we both went for a tomato, I could see the edge of a bruise on her wrist. Things were different then, and cop or no cop, you didn't speak those kinds of concerns out loud, but that didn't stop it from buggin' the hell out of me. We exchanged pleasantries, names, and I started going to the market everyday hoping to run in to her again. I didn't see her for three weeks, then out of the blue she showed up at my doorstep."

Tommy took a pause, then continued.

"Nancy was black up one end and blue down the other. Arty really did a number on that baby. Ellie had left her with him while she ran to the pharmacy, and he had decided Nancy was crying too much. She wanted help getting out, and I gave it to her. Moved herself from Chestnut Hill down to an apartment by the precinct, took on a job as a secretary to make ends meet, and never looked back."

When it seemed like the memory was too much, Lilly placed her hand on top of Tommy's, and murmured, "She sounds like a brave lady."

One corner of his mouth went up when he replied, "Oh she was. You would've liked her a lot Detective, you remind me a bit of her in the face. She was smart, too. If there was such a thing as a lady detective in the fifties, she would've been one. Always huntin' through my notes, pickin' my brain, tellin' me how I had it all wrong."

He sat back and took a long, measured look at Lilly. When she started to squirm under the scrutiny, Scotty interceded.

"She ever say anything to you about The Avenger?"

"The Avenger? She only mentioned him once when I found this creepy figurine on her desk. Made her stop walking around alone, asked Phyllis to pick Nancy up in the car after school, just had a bad feelin' you know? But she never mentioned it again, and it had been months. I figured someone had a crush on her and gave up. You thinkin' this character was the one who killed my Ellie?"

Scotty pulled out the bagged note card and handed it to Tommy.

"This is what Nancy found in her coat pocket. Anything about it familiar?"

Tommy read carefully, then tapped it with a crooked finger, "What it says about the caged bird? That's just like the figurine I saw on her desk."

"Do you know what happened to the figurine?" Lilly asked.

"I just assumed she tossed it. I can't believe she didn't tell me. Trusted the man, not the reaction."

Scotty's head snapped up, "What do you mean by that?"

"I imagine if you're looking into Ellie's murder, you'll be looking in to Arty's? I might as well tell you that the alibi she gave me was just a tale. I swear I didn't kill him, but I was at home alone. Ellie said she believed me, but I think she thought I really had offed him, but I did it for her and Nancy and that was a noble enough reason to lie. 'A woman really loves you if she'll lie for you.' My Pop used to say that all the time."

Lilly took a moment to absorb, then reached into her bag for a card.

"I think we have everything we need, Detective…"

Tommy took the card and stuck it in his pocket before interrupting.

"Tommy. Call me Tommy. I haven't been a detective in quite awhile."

"We'll be in touch, Tommy."

She turned herself to leave, and Scotty followed in suit until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You said you saw Nancy?"

Scotty turned around, and leaned against the doorway.

"Yeah. We saw her. How about you?"

The older man began to worry the frayed edge of his flannel top before he answered.

"Oh I haven't seen her in about fifty years that she knows about. Ellie's parents told me to stay away, and I did for the most part, but when I had the chance, I'd slip in to one of her recitals-I watched her graduate as Valedictorian of her class. She probably doesn't even remember me."

"She mentioned you as her Uncle Tommy. Maybe you should look her up."

With one last look, Scotty made his way out to the car to join Lilly. She started the car wordlessly, and they were fifteen minutes out before he spoke.

"Whatcha make of Tommy?"

Lilly continued to stare out the window, and he almost believed she didn't hear him.

Finally, she answered, "He's different, but I don't make him for a suspect in either murder. What are you thinking'?"

He flipped idly through his notebook for a moment.

"About the same. He's a little intense though, don't ya think?"

"Well, he loved her. Intense by definition."

Lilly turned to him when he said, "So dead end?"

She shot him a quick smile.

"New lead. Let's see what we can drag up about this bird figurine."

He smiled back at her, then tilted his seat back.

"Mind if I catch some shut eye on the way home?"

"Go ahead, but didn't you sleep last night?" she asked.

"Nah, I was thinkin' about the case and couldn't sleep." he said.

Lilly was going to ask another question, but he was already snoring lightly beside her. As she drove down the highway, she asked herself just how she was going to hunt down a fifty year old figurine that was probably long gone.

__

Hmmm…so Lilly's dream…fact or fiction? And is there more to it? ;) Thanks for reading!!


	4. Something in the Wind

The sun had long faded by the time Lilly Rush had made it to her home. No lights seemed to be burning inside despite the late hour, and she gave an involuntary shiver. She always thought love would equate to fearlessness, but in the cold Philadelphia night a familiar fright tore into her gut.

Lilly was a cop. Fear doesn't fly-she told that to battered women everyday-but in her own home she was a prisoner. The crazy thing was that she didn't know where it began or where it would end, and even though every instinct told her differently, she let him make her believe she had no way out. She gave a silent prayer for the best, and entered.

As she had observed, there wasn't a single light on even though Jared should've been home. Her gut twisted into itself as she advanced past the living room, giving a loud gasp when a set of headlights cast a spooky, dancing light upon the blackened walls. Her progression finally found her in the bedroom, undressing in the illumination of a solitary nightlight.

Down to her underwear, Lilly went flying into the mattress by a harsh shove. Jared emerged from the shadows like a nightmare.

"It's very late, Lilly. Where have you been?"

With a tremble, she grabbed the throw at the bottom of her bed to shield her body, then responded, "Leads on a case, Jar. You know how it goes. What are you doing in the dark anyways? Scared me…"

"Enough," he countered, "and what about last night, Lil? Didn't come home at all. You know what kind of thoughts that gives me. Do you really want me doubtin' you?"

"No, baby," she answered, "you've got no reason to doubt me. I was just working a new case, and I fell asleep…"

Jared took hold of her upper arm, and with a snarl he asked, "Where did you fall asleep?"

She looked away, and he gave her a violent shake.

"Answer me! Where did you sleep last night."

"At Scotty's," she finally said, eyes cast away into the dark corner..

He began pacing erratically around the room, turning towards her, then shoving himself into another direction. Words fell from his lips, but they were mostly incomprehensible as she sat frozen on the bed.

"It's not like that with me and Scotty," she ventured.

Immediately, he was in her face. Anger was burning brightly in his eyes, and he yanked away the blanket subsequently tossing her to the wooden floor.

"Don't you lie to me, bitch! I know you're sleepin' with him! Ain't nothin' but a slut for his worthless ass!"

She jumped up in a rare spell of courage, and got back into his face.

"For the last time, I'm not sleepin' with Scotty!"

Like a slow moving fly, he batted her down easily, then fell to his knees beside her, and crushed her cheeks between his large hands before he continued his tirade.

"Know the sick thing, Lil? You keep goin' back for more even though he doesn't want you for anything more than an easy piece of tail! Every time you're fuckin' him, he's thinkin' about your little sister! Just a poor man's Chris like always! A place holder for what everyone really wants-the pretty sister, the fun sister, the Rush not completely fucked in the head and incapable of human emotions! I've tried savin' you from that, but you're just a dumbass blonde goin' back for more hurt!"

Lilly crawled over to the edge of the bed and used it as leverage to sit upright. She closed hers eyes tightly like the lids could beat back the words that put life to all of her worst fears. With her chin on her knees, she looked up slowly deciding all the darkness in the world couldn't save her from the truth.

"But I'm not sleepin' with him," she finally sobbed out.

"Stand up," he commanded. "Stand up so I can take a look at you in the light. Did he leave his mark on you? Will I be able to smell him on you?"

She pushed herself backwards towards the door, jumped up, and started running.

"No to all of it! You stay away from me, Jared! Stay away or…" she shouted behind her.

Jared was too quick though. By the time her feet hit the landing of the stairs, he had vaulted himself ahead of her. With his hands firmly around her ribs, he forced Lilly into the wall, then pinned her hands above her head.

"Stay away or what?" he laughed mirthlessly. "You gonna call the boss? Those goons Vera and Jeffries? Scotty?"

Silent tears fell onto her cheeks.

"You ain't gonna call anybody, 'cause you ain't got nobody but me, Lil. Let me get you your cell, I bet you ten bucks they all ignore your call."

"That's not true," she whispered to herself.

"My God, does Valens do a job on your head or what? Is that the exchange? You let him pump you, and in return he pumps your head full of bullshit ideas of unicorns, and lollipops, and Daddy Stillman by the fire? I'm the only one that loves you. Ain't got nothin' else or you would've gone and found it by now."

In her mind, Lilly tried to focus on the comfort of being at home with Scotty, the joke Nick told her before she left work, the way this case had Jeffries walking her to her car tonight like something had spooked him, but she couldn't maintain with all the ugly words washing over her. It all seemed like a façade when he broke it down for her that way. All the fighting instincts ran like sand through her fingers and she fell onto his chest.

"You're right," she cried, "I'm just stupid."

His fingers laced into her hair, forcing her to look up into his own bright blue eyes and now friendly face.

"I do this for you, baby. Just gotta stay in line."

"I understand."

He gave her hair a hard pull.

"No more sleepovers with Valens, you got it? I could leave you. I don't need you. You need me. Remember that."

She nodded and he let her hair loose. He leaned in to kiss her cheek, successfully ignoring the tremor he felt run down her body.

"Let's go to bed, then. I'm very tired now."

Lilly only nodded mutely, took his hand, and followed him back upstairs. In her mind, one hot, angry word flashed through her mind.

Coward.

__

Miles and miles away, Tommy Blaine sat out on his porch staring into the starry night without seeing a thing. He never thought he would hear another person on this earth speak the name Eleanor Collins, and those kids from Philly bringing it right to his front door threw him straight through a loop. Oh, and Nancy. The grown woman he once fancied as his child, sometimes even followed like a proud father obscured in shadows. How was a guy to get his handle?

For fifty years he had done everything he could to find his peace. Stood up for the little man, protect and serve, but there was a ghost haunting his every move, whispering that he should keep going. The ghost was normally hidden in the top of the closet in the unused second floor guest room, but tonight she was screaming from the box he kept her in, and it was sitting beside his rocker.

He kept a copy of every scrap of paper regarding Ellie's case even after all these years. On top of the files sat his problem, though. It was the shattered remains of that hideous caged bird. He snatched it a week after she had received it, and when she was gone, he threw it against a wall. The Avenger was unimportant in his grief, a mere blip in the radar, he hadn't considered it again until the detectives showed up. Now she was screaming for justice, and he was scrambling for a way to explain his actions when they finally rounded back to him.

Tommy wondered if they would understand that when he took it, he was just trying to save her again. He didn't want another possessive jerk coming in and trying to impose his will on them again. Could they grasp the fact that to this day he'd give both lungs if it would prevent an ounce of harm from touching his girls? Would they understand that, despite his actions, he was not a possessive jerk himself? There were few things he had ever wanted from this world, and damned if they weren't all stolen right from under him. No Ellie, no Nancy, and no happily ever after in short order.

In the quiet, he also found himself wondering on Lilly and Scotty themselves. Quite a pair those two-the fire and the ice. He may have been long retired, but he prided himself on the fact he could still read a face, a situation.

Something was in the wind with the lady detective and her partner, and whatever it was it sounded darkly from a distance and bore what he was sure was a dark cloud just out of sight. A feeling of foreboding clawed at him, made him want to shake that boy Valens and ask him if he could see it, and maybe tell his little Ellie doppelganger Lilly that all the secrets and denials in the world wouldn't save her.

Clearly it didn't save Ellie herself.

He considered the card in his hand. Detective Lilly Rush. Should he call her and get it over with? It was late, but he wondered if he came into town now would it offer her some respite from herself? From whatever secrets she hid? Was he just a foolish old man? Probably, but he still pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number he was sure he'd have memorized by the end of their investigation.

__

From his apartment window, Scotty contemplated the silent night and the phone in his hand that suddenly felt like an enormous weight.

Lilly had lied to him.

His buddy that lived in the same firehouse as Jared had given him a call to shoot the breeze and talk about this hellacious fire downtown that happened somewhere around two in the morning. Apparently they had to call firefighters from all the surrounding houses and even a few from home. It was completely crazy according to Jeff. Of course Scotty just had to ask if Jared was involved expecting an affirmative since Lil said he was working overnight, but much to his surprise Jared was one of the men that got called in from home.

Lilly had lied to him.

They were best friends, sure, and he could even believe she would seek out his presence if something as disastrous as a miscarriage had happened, but last night wasn't about her being pregnant. Kat was pretty no nonsense, and would have rationally been her first call if she was missing a period or something else decidedly feminine. Kat was a lady, but as silent as a man when it came to such matters leaving Lilly no room to long for his company in fear she'd be choked up by some girly pitfall if she said she might be carrying a baby.

That rattled feeling that kept him up all night long after he put her in bed returned full force. The silence that seemed to scream that something was wrong here, was the same silence that mocked his lack of action.

He couldn't just roll up to their house at midnight, drag her out of their bed, and ask her what in the hell was going on. In fact, if he were betting, he'd say it was Jared that had her running scared but he had long ago lost his chance at voicing that particular opinion. All he had was his gut until he got proof. Normally he'd also say he had their friendship, but with her lying to get some sort of sanctuary he wasn't so sure.

A pang of empathy suddenly shot through his heart.

Was this how Tommy felt when he knew Arty was beating her, but he couldn't help? Did that same feeling crush his lungs when Ellie received the caged bird from The Avenger?

Scotty turned to the pile of copies he made from Ellie's box this evening. Maybe the empathy was good. Maybe it could give him some traction on the case instead of wondering hopelessly about Lilly and her menagerie of secrets.

He picked up the drawing an artist at the station made him from the notes he got at Tommy's house. There was something familiar about it. Come to think of it, the figurine reminded him of one that sat on his mother's piano at home. Though her figurine happened to be a suspended hummingbird, the similarity was there. This was good. Tomorrow he could call and ask about it.

His mind was now burying deep into the file, but somewhere in he wondered still what would make Lilly lie? Was she okay?

He sighed.

Something else to check into tomorrow.

__

Jared had been asleep for an hour, but Lilly was still wide awake.

The man beside her made her skin crawl. She had busted hundreds just like him, but here she was laying with the same enemy she told just as many girls to stay away from. Still, a darkness inside her whispered that everything he said was right. She was a substitute that no one loved and that was that.

God, she wished she could sleep.

Her phone started to ring beside him, and a tiny hope ignited in her until she reached over and realized it was a number not saved to her contacts.

"Rush."

"This is Tommy Blaine, Lilly. Can I meet you to talk?"

"Tommy, it's late. If you want to come into headquarters in the morning…"

"Now, Lilly. I have to show you somethin' now."

Lilly sighed. Really, she wasn't sleeping anyways, and maybe if she invited him here, she would have a free pass from Jared.

"This better be good," she said and then quickly gave him her address.

She considered calling Scotty, but decided that would be truly ill-advised, and shut her phone.

This better be good indeed.

___

Let me just say that I hate making Lilly a victim like this more than anything, but I have to do it to get the story to move just right.

Jared sucks. I know this. He's brutal, but keep in mind Scotty whipped him once, and justice has just got to be served in my world! ;)

Thanks again for reading & for the last chapters reviews!!


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